


Cheerleaders

by OverlyObsessed223



Series: umbrella academy one-shots where people give a damn about klaus [8]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Boxing, Canon Compliant, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Gen, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, Pre-Canon, boxing inaccuracies, even numbers gang, i know nothing about boxing jsyk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26522431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyObsessed223/pseuds/OverlyObsessed223
Summary: Still rubbing his throbbing cheekbone with one hand, Klaus goes back to struggling to watch the fight, grimacing when he sees Sucker Puncher hit Diego hard enough to send him flying to the ground and causing him to lose the second match.“What if he loses?” Ben suddenly says, looking visibly more nervous than before.“Then we all get the hell out of dodge,” Klaus answers without missing a beat, glancing up at Diego pulling himself to his feet, his face now twisted with anger, the glare of the overhead lights illuminating the blood on his lip.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: umbrella academy one-shots where people give a damn about klaus [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890268
Comments: 9
Kudos: 368





	Cheerleaders

**Author's Note:**

> hey hi hello! 
> 
> i currently have so many works in progress right now, it's a bit insane. So, expect some cool stuff coming soon—i'm really excited for what's ahead. 
> 
> But i came up with this idea and couldn't not write it out right away, so here it is! god i love the even numbers so much it's not even funny.
> 
> also i know nothing about boxing so there's that.

“Klaus, if you don’t hurry up we’re gonna be late.”

As usual, Klaus pays his brother no mind, because frankly, he’s getting sick and tired of all the pestering from him. No matter what Ben says or thinks, he is a twenty-six-year-old adult and is perfectly capable of managing his time. That, of course, is why he’s pursuing the chip aisle in a gas station, thinking real hard about what kind of chips he wants because only one bag will fit in his pants. 

He’s never been so great at decision making.

“Should I get the plain or the barbecue?” Klaus ponders this question deeply aloud, ignoring the questioning glances the woman further down the aisle is sending him. 

“We both know you’re gonna end up taking both,” Ben sighs, his arms crossed. “But we only have ten minutes until it starts and it’s a five-minute walk to get there, so _let’s go_.”

Yeah, he’s got a point, Klaus thinks, so when nobody (living) is looking his way he goes ahead and stuffs one bag into his coat and the other into his pants. As soon as he does, Ben turns on his heel and walks out the door, Klaus stumbling over his own feet to catch up to him. Klaus has never before seen his brother walk so briskly, at least not after death, and Klaus hurries to keep up while munching on the plain potato chips he just stole. 

“Do you think he’s gonna win?” Klaus asks as they walk, his mouth full. 

Ben just shrugs, stuffing his hands in his jacket pocket. Klaus knows Ben is nervous about the fight tonight—it’s one of the reasons he’d wanted to go watch it in the first place. Surprisingly, Klaus hadn’t even argued against the idea (it’s not like he has anything else to do) and even made an effort to stock up on his drugs beforehand so this night would be free. It’s rare when Klaus and Ben are sort of on the same page, but it’s happening now. There must be a blue moon out tonight or something. 

“Should we have invited Vanya?” Ben frowns, his pace slowing down just a little. 

“Nah, this isn’t her scene, man,” Klaus shakes his head, shoving another chip into his mouth and brushing the crumbs off on his crop top. “And it’s not like this is a big family reunion, right? We’re just gonna slip in, watch the fight, and leave.”

“Right,” Ben echoes, but his face is sad. Klaus himself crumples inside upon seeing the deep frown on his deceased brother’s face, knowing full well how much Ben misses their family. Klaus doesn’t, not really—he likes his siblings, and he’ll hang out with them once in a while as long as he ends up getting money or food out of it, but it’s hard to bond as a family when you’re all emotionally stunted assholes. 

“We’ll visit her later,” Klaus says, despite all that, because he hates seeing Ben sad and he’ll do anything to cheer him up (anything but getting sober, of course). Besides, Vanya is his least insufferable sibling, so he won’t mind stopping by her apartment in a few days. 

There are lots of people standing outside and around the gym where Diego works at, and, to Ben’s horror, _l_ _ives_. Klaus and Ben visited Diego’s boiler room once a couple of months ago when he was just freshly moved in. Klaus would judge his brother for living in the boiler room of a gym, but Klaus sleeps on the streets and in the beds of strangers so he’d probably be a hypocrite if he did. 

“Hey, look,” Ben suddenly grins, pointing at a poster that’s hanging on a lamppost yards away from the gym. On the poster is their brother’s serious, intense face glaring at them, and Klaus can’t help but giggle because it’s a _horrible_ picture of him. He considers tearing it down out of respect for his sibling, but because it’s promoting his first big boxing fight Klaus decides against it. 

_“Diego “The Kraken” Hargreeves vs John “Sucker Puncher” Merada”_ is what the poster reads in big bold letters, plus a bunch of other big marketing words that Klaus doesn’t bother to read. Klaus and Ben share a glance, and they’re both smiling, but while Klaus is excited it seems Ben is more nervous than anything. 

Having finished his chips, Klaus throws the bag in a nearby trash can before turning to Ben and clapping his hands together. 

“I hope we get a good spot,” Klaus says as they approach the front door of the gym.

“Uh… that’s unlikely,” Ben says as he watches a huge amount of people enter the gym before them. 

“With that attitude, it is,” Klaus scoffs, pulling the door open and stepping inside to see that Ben is, surprise surprise, probably correct. The gym is _packed,_ leaving Klaus and Ben practically squished up against the back wall. The people here are… well, for a lack of a better description, a bunch of Diego’s. Large ripped, buff people, lots with chipped teeth and sharp rings, others with tattoos and piercings—some hold bottles of beer or whiskey, some flex their fists as if looking for a fight. It looks like everyone here could benefit from good old anger management classes. 

Just like this isn’t Vanya’s scene, it’s arguably not Klaus’ either. 

But he and Ben are here to support their brother, even though said brother doesn’t even know Klaus is here and would probably get all weird if he knew.

“Should we try to get closer?” Klaus asks wearily as he eyes the wall of people in front of them.

“I don’t think we _can_ ,” Ben points out. “Besides, if Diego sees you it might throw him off.”

Klaus nods in agreement, just as the owner of the gym gets up into the ring, a microphone in his hand as he starts yelling, trying to hype the crowd up. It reminds Klaus of the clubs he often frequents, except the people here are quite a bit more violent and… passionate. Klaus can hardly see the ring, having to stand on his tiptoes to look over the shoulder of the guy in front of him. He wouldn’t be surprised if Ben decides to phase through the crowd just to get a better view. 

Diego and his opponent, “Sucker Puncher” (what a terribly stupid yet bone-chilling name) both enter the ring and the crowd intensifies to the point where Klaus starts getting urges to cover his ears. Sucker Puncher is huge, Klaus notes as he gets a good look at the guy—but that shouldn’t be a problem, given that Diego spent their entire childhood getting into fights with Luther. Speaking of Diego, he looks about the same as he did when Klaus saw him a few months ago when they conveniently ran into each other in front of Griddy’s, save for the newfound hard glint in his eyes.

Not that Diego was ever a cool, joyful person. 

Then, a bell rings and the fight begins. Klaus and Ben are only able to get glimpses of the fight, jumping up and down and standing on tiptoes in desperate attempts to see what happens. The fight is intense from the get-go, a focused look on Diego’s face as he lands a few punches and gets a few in return. These guys are pretty equally matched, which elongates the duration of the fight. 

“C’mon, Diego, hit him!” Klaus yells.

“Punch him, punch him—shit, look out!” Ben shouts.

No matter how loud he yells, Klaus has as much of a chance as Ben does at getting heard because the large crowd is pretty much drowning him out.

After six minutes, the first match ends with Diego as the winner. 

“Just one more to go,” Ben anxiously mutters, biting his bottom lip.

At some point during the second match, Klaus gets an elbow to the face, his offender not even noticing him clutching his face in pain afterward. Ben stops cheering long enough to give Klaus a sympathetic look but quickly goes back to watching the fight because there’s not much he can do, given that he’s a ghost. 

Klaus always forgets that. 

Still rubbing his throbbing cheekbone with one hand, Klaus goes back to struggling to watch the fight, grimacing when he sees Sucker Puncher hit Diego hard enough to send him flying to the ground and causing him to lose the second match. 

“What if he loses?” Ben suddenly says, looking visibly more nervous than before. 

“Then we all get the hell out of dodge,” Klaus answers without missing a beat, glancing up at Diego pulling himself to his feet, his face now twisted with anger, the glare of the overhead lights illuminating the blood on his lip. 

“It’ll destroy his ego…” Ben mumbles, biting his nails he watches the two opponents prepare for the final match. 

Klaus has to agree with that.

The third fight starts back up, and even though he’s agnostic, he finds himself pleading with any higher power that would listen to give his brother the win. They all know how many times Diego has lost in life, whether that be his father’s approval or his dreams of joining the police force. Would it be too much for the universe to give Diego a win for once, the guy who is currently living in the boiler room of a gym and is probably still heartbroken from his recent breakup? 

It seems that it would be too much, unfortunately. Klaus is shouting, not even forming words, just making noises as Diego gets hit again and again, his voice cracking in desperation as he realizes his brother is going to go down. Ben has stopped saying anything at all, just standing on his tiptoes, clearly in distress. 

Diego hits the floor and the bell rings.

“ _Shit_ ,” Klaus and Ben hiss at the same time. 

The crowd goes wild as Sucker Puncher does a victory lap around the ring, and with the way people are jumping up and down Klaus can’t even see Diego’s form laying on the ground. Maybe that’s for the best. It always hurts to see his big brother go down, especially because winning has always meant so much to Diego. 

Klaus and Ben lean against the back wall, disappointed expressions on both their faces as the crowd begins to slowly disperse. By the time they can get a clear view of the ring, Diego is gone, probably having gone back to his boiler room to lick his wounds and punch a bag for a few hours before passing out. 

“Klaus, maybe we should go talk to him,” Ben suggests, his voice quiet, and Klaus looks at his brother like he’s grown a third head in his death. 

“That’s the stupidest idea you’ve ever had—I probably would have avoided him even if he’d won but after _that_ defeat? He’ll take all of his shame and anger out on me and I am _not_ getting stabbed tonight, no thank you,” Klaus crosses his arms, not even willing to entertain the idea of following Diego into his knock-off Bat Cave downstairs. 

But then he turns his head and gets a good look at Ben, and realizes that his brother is really, truly in distress, the upset clouding his eyes and his eyebrows firmly knit together. . Klaus can imagine how it would feel to worry about someone but not be able to do anything about it—how it would feel to be completely powerless to help the ones he loves. 

Klaus sighs, uncrossing his arms and allowing them to fall to his sides, and Ben perks up at his show of relenting. 

“If he kills me it’s your fault,” Klaus jabs a finger at his brother as he begins to walk in the direction of the boiler room. Ben simply shrugs, not seeming too worried about Klaus jumping into a metaphorical shark tank, and Klaus growls in response. He’s the one putting his life on the line—you would think Ben would show some respect but _noooo_. 

On his way to Diego’s place, Klaus picks up a piece of cardboard that’s sitting discarded by the wall, holding it up in front of his body like a shield. It may not hold up well against knives, but it’s better than nothing. 

Klaus gulps nervously before knocking on Diego’s door. There’s absolute silence, and Klaus taps his foot against the concrete, not looking forward to this encounter. 

“Oh well, he’s not home,” Klaus manages to school his expression into one of sadness after a minute of waiting, shrugging and getting ready to walk away—much to his own relief. Ben can’t say he didn’t try. 

As if on cue, the door cracks open and a knife goes whizzing past Klaus’ head, causing him to jump two feet in the air, a high pitched shriek escaping him.

“You would think I’d be used to that by now,” Klaus sighs, heart still racing, sticking his tongue out at Ben’s smirk. 

“Klaus, what the hell are you doing here?” Diego’s voice is gruff and low as he steps out into the hallway, glancing at the piece of cardboard that’s shakily positioned between the two brothers. Now that Klaus is closer, he can see the dark ugly bruises lining Diego’s jaw, the still bleeding cut on his forehead, and his split lip that seems to have dried up by now. A wave of sympathy hits Klaus all over again, and he forces himself not to think about his brother getting beat down. “I’m not giving you money, so fuck off—I’m not in the mood to deal with you tonight.”

“Oh, I’m fully aware of that,” Klaus nods, looking at Ben as if to say _told you so!_ “We—I mean, I—just wanted to make sure you’re not dying of internal bleeding or anything… that looked rough back there, sorry about that, bro.”

That doesn’t seem to help Diego’s expression lighten up. “You were watching?”

“Yeah, of course, I wouldn’t have missed it,” Klaus gives a timid grin, about to lightly punch Diego in the arm good-naturedly but deciding against it mid-swing. “I mean, I only saw about half of it—I was in the back behind this _giant_ dude, but it’s the thought that counts, right? I think I bruised my tiptoes trying to see what was going on.”

Diego doesn’t respond to that, his eyes narrowing as he studies Klaus’ face. 

“You get into a fight?” his brother frowns, and when Klaus is visibly confused he reaches up to jab at Klaus’ cheekbone with a finger. Klaus winces, removing one hand from his cardboard shield to rub at his face—he’d forgotten about that amid Diego’s final match. 

“Oh, that? Yeah, I did, but you should see the other guy,” Klaus lies with a grin.

“Or the other guy’s elbow,” Ben snickers. 

“Hey, his elbow was hard as _rocks,_ ” Klaus glowers at him. Diego’s eyes flick between his brother and the thin air Klaus is glaring at. Klaus turns back to look at Diego. “But yeah, just wanted to make sure you were okay and shit—my conscience wouldn’t let me go back to my alley and eat my barbecue chips.”

“How kind of you,” Diego says sarcastically, leaning against the doorway. 

“So you are?”

“Am I what?"

“Okay,” Klaus elaborates, and Diego shifts on his feet. 

“If I say yes will you leave?” Diego questions and Klaus shrugs his shoulders. “Then I’ll say yes in the morning. Get in here—no, don’t give me that look, you’re already here so I’m not sending you out to sleep on the streets.”

Klaus tries to protest, knowing fully well that drugs are off-limits when he’s staying over at Diego’s, but Diego has reached over the shield—it’s a shitty shield—and grabbed ahold of his arm, and that coupled with Ben’s excited face causes him to relent and not struggle as hard when Diego pulls him inside. 

Figuring he’s stuck, Klaus lets the cardboard shield fall to the ground and shakes Diego’s grip off, skipping over to the couch and falling back onto it. 

“Feet off the coffee table,” Diego orders as he moves around the kitchen, fixing himself a glass of water. Klaus puts his feet on the coffee table anyway, which will probably get him a slap on the head, but Klaus is very much a moment by moment kind of guy. 

Upon seeing Diego pretty much fine, Ben seems a lot less nervous than he was before. “Can you believe that first match, though? Diego took that guy _out._ ”

“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” Klaus grins, shifting his eyes to Diego, who is giving him the weird type of look he always gives when Klaus is talking to Ben. “I totally bet you’ll win next time—you were so close… hey! Would you mind if I bring a poster next time that says “Go Diego Go”? I’ll have to use big, dark letters to be seen all the way from the back, but I think I can find a couple of sharpies in the dumpster behind Staples.”

“I would very much mind,” Diego tells him, giving him a warning look, but his eyes have softened at the suggestion. He tosses a blanket and a bag of peas into his brother’s lap. “I’m going to sleep, so shut up, okay?”

“Will do, brother of mine,” Klaus gives him a mock salute before stretching out on the couch, covering himself with the blanket as Diego gets ready to climb into his bed. 

Thankfully, Diego leaves a lamp on, keeping the room from plunging the room into the darkness that Klaus can’t stand. 

“Hey, Di?” Klaus rolls over on his stomach, peering over the arm of the couch to look at his brother who is sitting on the side of his bed. “I know you lost and all, but for what it’s worth, you put up a good fight. Has us on the tip of our toes—literally. You’ll get ‘em next time, though, we both know so.”

Ben nods in agreement from the chair he’s sitting in.

“Thanks, Klaus,” Diego says quietly after a moment. 

Klaus grins dopily before turning onto his side and closing his eyes.

He is _so_ making that poster. 

**Author's Note:**

> y'all don't even know how hard i laughed every time i typed "sucker puncher" lmfaoooo


End file.
